By the same author See also Reflections on Garry Kasparov 10 Seconds with Garry Kasparov We Need to Talk about Garry, Part 1: A New Beginning We Need to Talk about Garry, Part 2: Good Decisions We Need to Talk about Garry, Part…

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H.E. Bird: A Chess Biography with 1,198 Games Hans Renette 608 pages | hardback | 150 illustrations | 1,198 games | $75.00 Jefferson: McFarland, 2016 Adrian Harvey During the period after 1860 three British chess players had a plausible claim to be in…

On October 13, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was awarded the annual International award the Golden Bolloc 2016 for his contribution to “the cause of peace and development of the relationship between nations and states”. Bookies’ favourites British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Korea’s Kim Jong-un…

FIDE’s controversial decision to allow Iran to host the 2017 Women’s World Chess Championship has sparked a furore in the hushed, cerebral ranks of the game’s fans. In a bold move to silence critics who accuse it of endorsing a regime that enforces gender apartheid, FIDE…

Samuel Lipschütz: A Life in Chess Stephen Davies 408 pages | hardback | 42 illustrations | 249 games | $65.00 Jefferson: McFarland, 2015 Hans Renette Samuel Lipschütz It does not take much to fire a passion. In his introduction…

Leonid Stein (1934-1973), who died prematurely on this day 43 years ago, was one of the most dynamic attacking players of his generation. Krogius – Stein Kiev 1960 Black to play Stein – Petrosian Moscow 1961 White to play Gligorić – Stein Lvov 1962…

Stuart Conquest Sexually motivated assault at chess events is a serious subject. I myself have often been a victim. A well-known English GM has on several occasions groped me from behind in the presence of witnesses. ‘Later, Jim,’ is my usual response. When I played 26…

Lev Khariton The attractive countryside of Meudon is a 15-minute train ride from Paris. Here I came to interview Boris Spassky just three days before his 60th birthday. He reminiscences about his life, his chess career, his rivals and friends. Dear Grandmaster, I should…

Andy Lewis A common Arimaa starting position Anyone for a variation on chess? Is chess played out? This concern has been voiced periodically over the history of the game, and the challenges has never been more profound: over-refinement of opening-theory; perfection of endgame technique;…

Sarah Hurst was a regular contributor to CHESS magazine in the 1990s and also edited the British Chess Federation’s newsletter, ChessMoves. Her fine book Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld is now available on Kindle at a bargain price. Since 2002 she has been translating…

Why Life Does Not Imitate Chess Part 3: The Visionary Followers of Garry Kasparov on Facebook will have noted that he has taken to styling himself as a ‘politician’. What’s his track record? All chess players will know about his campaign for FIDE president…

This Armageddon-style knockout tournament will take place amid the splendour of the Vladimir Putin Memorial Tearoom, St Petersburg. Play will begin on Christmas Day and continue until one player is left standing. He will be declared the winner and carry off the Prince Salman Bone-saw…

Chess and Early Cold War Propaganda Chess, like many sports, has been used as a political instrument. Files recently released by the National Archives reveal how the Soviet Union exploited chess for propaganda during the early years of the Cold War (1953–1960). In December 1953,…